1. Technical Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to computing systems and more particularly to emergency preparedness information processing within such computing systems.
2. Description of Related Art
Emergencies are known to be associated with direct costs (e.g., rebuilding), indirect costs (e.g., higher insurance premiums), and serious loss of life. Such emergencies include man-made emergencies and natural disasters. Examples of man-made emergencies are known to include traffic accidents, structure fires, chemical spills, railroad accidents, aircraft accidents, shipping accidents, criminal activities, and terrorism. Examples of natural disasters are known to include hurricanes, typhoons, earthquakes, forest fires, mudslides, floods, droughts, dust storms, hail storms, extreme heat, extreme cold, and snow storms.
Emergency management is known to address reducing the impact of emergencies by avoiding risks associated with emergencies and by utilizing more effective practices and tools to respond to emergencies. Emergency management is known to partition such management into phases including a mitigation phase (e.g., to reduce risks, to reduce the effects of disasters), a preparedness phase (e.g., planning, resourcing, drilling), a response phase (e.g., primary resource activation, secondary resource activation), and a recovery phase (e.g., rebuilding).
Emergency impact may be abated by improving the effectiveness of the preparedness phase. For example, preparing a resource checklist that is relevant to a group of individuals and a particular emergency scenario may improve the effectiveness of a subsequent response phase. In another example, providing a training tutorial that is relevant to the group of individuals and the particular emergency scenario may also improve the effectiveness of the subsequent response phase. In another example, providing a training drill that is relevant to the group of individuals and the particular emergency scenario that utilizes resources from the resource checklist and process steps from the training tutorial may also improve the effectiveness of the subsequent response phase.
Emergency impact may be abated by improving the effectiveness of the response phase. For example, effective communications between individuals and groups of individuals affected by (e.g., victims, including individuals, families, co-workers, etc.) or responding to an emergency (e.g., first responders, second responders, aid workers, volunteers, individuals) may improve the effectiveness of the response phase. In an instance, a first family member communicates with a second family member via a cellular telephone with instructions including where to go for help. In another instance, a second responder communicates with a volunteer indicating needed resources at the scene of an emergency.
Computing systems are known to process data into information, store information and communicate information. Such information may include emergency preparedness information and response phase communications information. Individuals utilize computing systems to gain access to such emergency preparedness information. Despite such access, individuals may not always obtain desired or optimal emergency preparedness information due to complexities associated with a relevant emergency scenario, resource gaps, chain of command, lack of training, and tension associated with emergency. Individuals utilize public computing systems (e.g., the internet, wireless devices, wireless networks) to communicate response phase communications information during an emergency. Despite such utilization, public computing systems (e.g., a commercial wireless carrier network) typically can't sustain a demanded traffic volume of such response phase communications information when the demanded traffic volume is multiples of a typical non-emergency time period. In an instance, a cellular network may provide tens of voice call communications paths per cellular tower when hundreds of voice call resources are in demand. One solution is to utilize text messaging rather than voice telephony to carry out communication of the response phase communications information. For example, hundreds of individuals can communicate via text messaging utilizing a similar cellular network channel resource that can only support a single voice call. Despite such texting capability, effective utilization of texting services is impacted by one more of identifying other users to communicate with, entering identifiers associated with the other users, and rapidly exchanging the response phase communications information.